Coke and Olympic pins

It’s been said that Olympic pin trading in the Number 1 spectator sport in the world. I think that’s true. At the Games, you’re so in the moment, trying to remember what you’ve seen and done, and it’s very easy to get caught up in the frenzy of pin trading.

Like Coca-Cola, pin trading really is a great way to bring two people from different cultures together. You don’t even have to share a common language, because you actually can just point to the pin you want – just like sharing a Coke.

We created the first Coca-Cola Official Olympic Pin Trading Center at the 1988 Games in Calgary. More than 17,000 visitors gathered daily – not bad for our first center!

In 1988 in Seoul, Korea, Coke sponsored two pin trading centers and a nationwide contest among Korea’s 11.7 million students to design the first-ever commemorative pin for the Opening Ceremony.

At least 1.2 million pins were traded during the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. Later that year, at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain, the number of visitors to the pin trading centers increased to over 500,000, representing more than 70 countries, and more than 2 million pins were traded at the Coca-Cola Official Olympic Pin Trading Centers and “PinMobiles.” (Back then, the Winter and Summer Olympics took place in the same year; they weren’t spread out like they are now.)

Coke continued to help pin traders find a good “home” at every Olympics since 1988. In Athens in 2004, the Coca-Cola Official Pin Trading Center made its 10th straight appearance at the Games.

The photo I’ve included here is of our wall of pins in the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta. Be careful once you start collecting them or you soon could have this many! And check back here for more information about Coke and the Olympics.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in lower- or no-sugar options to help people moderate their consumption of added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola drinks, some of our leading brands around the world include: AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut water. At Coca-Cola, we’re serious about making positive contributions to the world. That starts with reducing sugar in our drinks and continuing to introduce new ones with added benefits. It also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact, creating rewarding careers for our associates and bringing economic opportunity wherever we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world.